A Helping Hand
by Mccorkle
Summary: Ritsu finds a letter in her locker asking for her help. Azusa has a secret and could use some help.
1. Chapter 1

X

"Oh ho, what's this?" Ritsu said to herself. "A letter in my locker?" She looked around furtively, grinning to herself. A dozen scenarios ran through her head. Maybe it was a confession. Or maybe someone was trying to bully her. Or it could be a challenge to a fight!

Ritsu turned the envelope over and took in the neat handwriting on the front. _Ritsu-senpai._ Definitely an underclassman then. She glanced around again, hoping to spot whoever had left the letter. No one stood out, as they collected their stuff from their own lockers or talked to their friends. Ritsu opened the letter and began to read.

_Ritsu-senpai, please meet me in the courtyard before club practice. I have something important to discuss. -Azusa_

"Eh?"

Ritsu had been itching to get out of class more than usual. Azusa's letter was on her mind, and Mio was still ignoring her for the prank she had pulled that morning. Ritsu couldn't figure out why; it had been one of her more mild pranks. She had glued beads and paper on her arm to look like barnacles and screamed when she rolled her sleeve up to show Mio. Mio hadn't found it as funny as she did and left Ritsu to herself all day.

The bell finally rang and Mio left as quickly as she could without even looking at her. Ritsu frowned. She'd have to make it up to the other girl eventually. But first she had a mysterious meeting to attend. She gathered her things, marched to the courtyard, and wondered about the reason Azusa would want to talk to her.

Azusa had been a part of Hokage Tea Time for a year now. Ritsu and Azusa got along just fine in the club room, but Ritsu couldn't recall having much one on one time with the younger girl. Sure she messed with Azusa whenever she saw an opportunity, but it wasn't as much as with some of the other club members. And certainly not enough for her to need to have a private talk with Ritsu. She also doubted Azusa had a crush on her. If anyone, she figured the younger girl would go for Mio. She had looked up to Mio ever since she had joined the club.

While she had been pondering, her feet had carried her to the school's courtyard. She was still lost in thought when someone called out to her.

"Ritsu-senpai, over here." Azusa was standing in an out-of-the-way corner of the courtyard, shifting from foot to foot. Her eyes moved around from Ritsu to the other students and back again. She looked nevous. Ritsu grinned. She never could resist a good teasing opportunity.

"Ah Azu-nyan! I've been looking everywhere for you!" she said in her loudest voice. The panicked look on Azusa's face was priceless. Ritsu walked up to her.

"Ritsu-senpai, please not so loud," she said. Her eyes flitted from person to person, trying to see if anyone was paying too much attention to the two of them.

"Sorry, sorry, my bad," she said. The grin never left her face. "What did you want to talk about?"

Azusa was quiet. Her eye settled into staring at the ground. Her hands came together and started twisting each other. The silence between them stretched a little too long for Ritsu's taste.

"That must have been a confession letter then, if you're this shy," she joked. Azusa's face started to turn red and she opened and closed her mouth a few times.

"Wait seriously? I, ah, was kinda joking." Ritsu said. "Not that your feelings are a joke, just..." Azusa looked down, clearly upset. She hadn't meant to make the other girl feel bad. "I just wasn't expe-"

"Not like that," Azusa managed to get out. "Not to you. Um," she looked away. She stuttered and couldn't decide what to say next. "I was... I... About... Towards... nevermind, this was a bad idea."

Ritsu couldn't have that. She was glad her kohai wasn't hurt, but now she wanted to know what was going on.

"It's a little late for that Azu-nyan," she said, drawing out the last syllable. "Now you've got me all curious. Who could my little senpai like?"

Azusa's face was fully red, but she shook her head and kept her mouth shut.

"Did a boy confess to you on your walk home? Did a long lost childhood friend come back and you don't know what to do? Hey did you have a sudden meeting with stranger and now you can't get them off your mind?" Azusa didn't budge.

"We should just go to the club room. Just forget I said anything," Azusa said.

"That's a good idea, maybe I should recruit more people to help me figure this out," Ritsu said. She watched the other girl's face closely, waiting for her to break. "I think the rest of the club would want to know too. Maybe Sawa-chan would help out, oh and I can ask Jun-chan and Ui-" she was cut off by a hand over her mouth.

"No! Don't tell anyone anything, I'll tell you." Azusa looked intently into her eyes. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Ritsu nodded and waited for Azusa to continue. After a minute or two the other girl had collected herself. She stared earnestly into Ritsu's eyes. "I like Yui-senpai."

Ritsu nodded again. She let the words roll around in her head for a while. She waited for them to be less funny. They didn't oblige. Ritsu snorted, then giggled, and soon she was holding her sides.

When she got a hold of her laughter she looked at Azusa and stopped laughing immediately. The other girl was on the verge of tears. "Hey no, it's just you always act like she gets on your nerves. I thought... I mean, you like her like _that _don't you?" Azusa nodded. Ritsu scratched the back of her neck. She wasn't sure what to do for the other girl.

"It's alright," she said snaking here arm around Azusa's back. "I didn't mean to laugh, it's just... I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes right?"

Azusa rubbed her eyes and said, "yes, you can be."

Ritsu almost frowned at that. She was torn between being offended at Azusa's easy agreement to her being an idiot and relief that she had stopped crying. She settled on relief and decided to roll with the self deprecation.

"Yep, that's me, just saying the first thing that comes to mind," she said. "You'd figure with a forehead this big there'd be something behind it." She grinned for added affect.

Azusa giggled a little and Ritsu celebrated. No way did she want to deal with two angry friends.

"Ritsu-senpai, about what I said. Maybe we could just forget it. I thought you were, um. I thought you would, ah," Azusa said, fidgeting. "Well we should just not talk about it."  
"Eh? Didn't you come to me for help?" Ritsu asked.

"Yes, but-"

"Then I'm going to help you. Ah, Azusa, this is going to be a lot of fun!" Ritsu said.


	2. Chapter 2

When Ritsu and Azusa reached the clubroom they saw the others had already started on their tea and sweets. Ritsu immediately kicked up a playful fuss, demanding to know why the others had started without the club President.

"We didn't know how long you'd be," Yui said. "And we didn't want to tea to get cold. And you can't have tea without cake," She said with certainty.

Ritsu sighed and said, "I guess it can't be helped. I'll just have to take this as punishment." She took a fork and sliced a piece of Yui's cake from her plate. Yui watched, helpless, as Ritsu devoured it.

Mugi appeared with cups and plates for Ritsu and Azusa. "Where were you two?" she asked.

Ritsu chuckled a little and scratched her neck sheepishly. "The math teacher wanted to see me about something." Yui was giving her an impressive pout.

"Dont' tell me you're failing the class," Mio said. "What would we do without our president?"

Sarcasm was a good sign from Mio as far as Ritsu was concerned. If nothing else it meant Mio was talking to her again.

"Hey," she said, pointing her fork at Mio. "This club was my idea. And I'm not failing. He wanted to congratulate me on my test scores." It was a blatant lie and Mio snorted at it.

"So you won't be coming to me for help later?" She asked.

"I never said that," Ritsu said quickly. Yui was still pouting at her but Mugi and Azusa giggled, and the club drank their tea, finished their cakes and managed to fit in some practice before heading home.

* * *

That night Ritsu laid in her bed thinking. Azusa liked Yui. Azusa liked another girl. It was something Ritsu had been aware of, in the back of her min, that girls could like other girls. She went to an all girl's school; sometimes a rumor would go around about two girls going out, or she'd overhear classmates talking about their senpais as if they had crushes on them. But she never expected to know anyone who was like that.

But maybe she wasn't. Maybe all Azusa had was a crush on an older student. An older student who aggravated her, who constantly jumped and hugged her when she didn't seem to like it. An older student who she worried over even if she didn't want anyone to know. It occurred to Ritsu that Azu-nyan was a very _very_ fitting nickname.

So the younger girl had a crush. Yui wouldn't mind. Actually she'd probably love it. Ritsu considered just telling Yui, maybe setting up some way to tease the younger girl, but a thought stopped her. In the courtyard she had laughed at Azusa and Azusa had almost cried. The look on her face had been heartbreaking- hurt and fear and betrayal all shining from watery eyes. Ritsu wasn't a very sensitive person but even she had to think maybe what Azusa felt was more than a schoolgirl crush.

But what did she know about romance. She had never really considered a normal romance, let alone one between two girls. She didn't get it really. Who did the asking out, or who paid for the date, and what did they even do on dates. Not that the thought of two girls bothered her. But how would the others react? Not just the rest of their band, but their other friends, their classmates.

And there was another problem. She had promised to help Azusa but she wasn't sure how, or even with what. Getting Yui to think of her that way? Seeing if she even could? Ritsu groaned and rolled around with her covers until she was trapped. All this thinking was giving her a headache. She resolved to sleep it off and attack the problem again in the morning.

* * *

"You don't look too good, Ritsu," Mio said the next morning.

"Good morning to you too," Ritsu said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "I didn't a lot of sleep."

Mio was quiet for a few moments, then said, "If you're really having trouble with your schoolwork you should tell us. We're pretty used to helping both you and Yui out."

Ritsu had almost forgotten the cover story she had made up yesterday. She almost worried about how easily Mio believed she was in trouble. Classes had only begun a couple of weeks ago, how could she be in trouble already? Then it hit her.

"Mio you're a genius!" She said. "We should have a study night! We can all go to Yui's place and ah-" she cut herself off. It wouldn't do to reveal her schemes. "And, uh, study," she finished lamely. She had no intention of actually studying. Not for school anyway. No, she'd take a look at Yui's room and see if she couldn't figure out if Yui would be into... what Azusa had in mind.

"I've never seen you so excited for studying," Mio said. Then she looked at Ritsu suspiciously. "Are you planning something?"

"I'm planning on studying," Ritsu answered smartly. "Hey did you catch the movie that was on last night? Wasn't it awesome?" She asked to change the subject. Mio still looked suspicious, but she went along with it anyway, and before the pari knew it they were at school.

* * *

At lunch Ritsu presented her idea of a study night. Yui and Mugi loved the idea and excitedly agreed. Mio lamented about the fact that the group wouldn't be doing much studying. Ritsu stuck her tongue out at Mio and said she had to get some books she forgot in her locker. Yui pointed out that that was why Ritsu needed a study night so early into the year and Ritsu stuck her tongue out at her too. Then she left for Azusa's classroom.

"What are you doing here Ritsu-senpai?" Azusa asked.

"We're having a study group tomorrow, us older kids," Ritsu said. "You're not invited."

Azusa looked affronted. "Did you come here to not invite me to your group?"

Ritsu smacked her own forehead. "No, no. Tomorrow I'm going to snoop through Yui's room and I need to know what I'm looking for," she said.

"What!?" Azusa asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Well I'm helping you," Ritsu said. "I'm going to look for anything you can use to get Yui to, you know..."

"Wh-what?" Azusa asked.

"Well _I_ don't know, and if you don't know we'll figure it out tonight. Think you can come to my house? We need to strategize," Ritsu said.

"Senpai is that really okay? Snooping through someone's stuff is kind of bad isn't it?" Azusa asked. She was starting to regret telling Ritsu her secret.

Ritsu waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine, it's fine. So tonight, send me a message when you're coming over. And if they ask," she said, nodding towards Ui and Jun, "I wanted your help for a prank and you turned me down, okay?"

"Ah," Azusa said. "Yeah, okay."

Ritsu left then and threw a wave over her shoulder. Azusa frowned and walked back to her seat. She rejoined the conversation Ui and Jun were having but she was only half there, her mind on what she would say that night and Ritsu's particular brand of help.


	3. Chapter 3

Ritsu lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was waiting for Azusa to show up. The other girl had messaged, saying she would be there soon. Ritsu debated between going downstairs to greet her and staying in her bed and being lazy. Her laziness won. Her parents and brother knew a friend of hers was coming over- they'd show her to Ritsu's room.

Soon enough she heard a knock at the front door and her brother's voice. After a few minutes she heard another knock, this one at her door, and Azusa's voice.

"Ritsu-senpai?"

"Come in, it's open," she said.

Azusa opened the door and took in the sight of Ritsu laying on her bed doing nothing.

"I don't know what I was expecting," she said. "You're as lazy at home as you are at school."

"Oi oi, show some respect to your elders," Ritsu said.

Azusa looked pointedly at Ritsu's textbooks, which were sitting unopened on her desk. Ritsu followed her gaze and scoffed.

"It's fine, I'll be studying tomorrow," she said. "Which is what you're here to talk about." She sat up and pointed Azusa to the chair by the desk. "So tell me what I should do. What should I be looking for?"

"What?" Azusa asked. "Ah, what do you mean?"

"With Yui. Do you want me to see if she might like you too? Or should I just look for ways you can, I don't know, woo her?" Ritsu asked. She looked at Azusa expectantly.

"Um, I'm not sure," She said. "I hadn't thought about that quite yet."

"Eh? Then what did you want my help with?" Ritsu asked.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted someone to talk to. And I thought you'd be the most, um, understanding," Azusa said.

"Me?" Ritsu said. "Why not Mio, or Mugi. "

"I would have, it's just I'm pretty sure they're, you know, straight," Azusa said.

Ritsu opened her mouth to speak when what Azusa said hit her. She couldn't help herself. She shouted "What!?" as she sat up straighter.

"Hm?"

"You think I'm, ah... that way?" she asked more quietly.

"You're not!? Azusa asked. She turned pale. "I'm so sorry, I didn't really think about it, I just read that we're supposed to be able to tell- I guess it should be 'I,' not 'we,' but it just... I'm sorry."

Ritsu was still shocked. She asked what made Azusa think she was gay. Azusa hung her head and spoke quietly.

"It's just, um, the way you interact with Mio-senpai. You're always bothering her and teasing her. I thought you might like her. And if you did, you'd understand, um, me liking Yui-senpai."

Ritsu took this in stride as best she could. She understood how her and Mio's relationship might look from the outside. She was constantly teasing the other girl for her reactions. Sometimes she reminded herself of a little boy teasing his crush. She didn't mean anything by it, teasing Mio was just too irresistible.

Ritsu sighed and looked at Azusa. She was on the verge of tears. Ritsu seemed to be doing that to the other girl a lot recently.

"It's alright, I'm not mad or anything," She said. "I guess I can see how it might look that way." She decided to change the subject. "Hey, why don't you tell me why you like Yui."

"Why I like Yui?"

"Yeah. I'd have figured you'd like Mio since you look up to her so much. And since Yui gets on your nerves," Ritsu said.

"She doesn't get on my nerves," Azusa said. Ritsu raised her eyebrows at her. "Not all the time." She took a few moments to gather her thoughts. "Yui-senpai can be lazy. And hard to motivate. And sometimes I wonder how she gets dressed in the mornings." Ritsu giggled a little at that. Azusa frowned at her and continued. "But she always comes through for us, somehow. When she puts her mind to it she's really good at guitar, and she's kind, and loyal."

Ritsu laughed and nodded. "I guess you're right about all that. She is pretty special, hm?

Azusa looked away and mumbled something.

"What was that, I didn't quite hear you?" Ritsu asked.

Azusa's face turned red as she spoke. "I said she also gives nice hugs."

Ritsu started cackling at that. She struggled to breathe, but eventually calmed down enough to speak. "Ah, so you're interested in Yui for her hugs, huh."

"Not just for that! Like I said she's nice and-" Azusa was cut off by Ritsu.

"And warm and cuddly. Hey, hey, do you think about her hugs a lot?"

Azusa blushed but held her head high. However her eyes didn't meet Ritsu's.

"Ah ha, that's a yes. Do you think of more than that?"

Azusa coughed and turned away. "Ritsu-senpai that's not appropriate."

Ritsu grinned. Who knew little Azusa had such devious thoughts. "Azu-nyan, I never took you for a pervert," she said.

"I'm not a pervert," Azusa said. Somehow she wasn't surprised talking to Ritsu had turned out like this. She was sure her face would be red forever after Ritsu was through with her teasing.

"Do you think of anyone else?" Ritsu asked. "Mugi, or Mio? They're both pretty. Is it only older girls? Ah, don't tell me you've thought about Sawa-chan-sensai-"

"No," Azusa half yelled. "Not her. Not that she isn't attractive, just..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of their advisor and her various deviations. She shuddered.

"I know what you mean," Ritsu said. She had a perturbed look on her face.

Azusa sighed quietly. She was here, talking about her crush and her orientation. She figured she might as well get it all out in the open, if Ritsu-senpai was willing to listen. "I might have looked at other girls. That's how I know it's not just Yui-senpai. I thought it might be, but it's not. She's the person I like, but if it had to be someone else it would be another girl. When I look at a boy, or try to think of them that way, it just doesn't work. I'm, um," her words failed her.

She was aware of Ritsu-senpai's silence. The smile had left her face as well. It wasn't like her senpai to be so serious.

"Azu-nyan." The nickname gave her hope. "It's alright. I get it. Listen, I don't mind that you like girls. You're still Azu-nyan, right?"

She made a noise in acknowledgement.

"That's all I need to know then."

Azusa nodded. Relief spread through her, relief from something she hadn't known she was worried about. Ritsu-senpai accepted her. Her straight senpai was okay with her liking girls.

Ritsu scratched her head. She had been right- Azusa had more than just a crush. She looked at Azusa then. The younger girl was tense and still wasn't looking at her.

"Mugi and Mio won't mind either," she said. Azusa looked at her then. "And as for Yui, I think she'd be happy to hear that you like her."

"Ah, you can't tell them," Azusa said. "I don't think I'm ready for them to know."

Ritsu held up her hands defensively. "I wasn't going to," she said. "Just, when you tell them, they'll be okay with it."

"Okay. But only when I'm ready, right?" Azusa asked.

"Of course."

"So you're not going to do anything weird tomorrow?"

"Weird?" Ritsu asked. "Why would I do anything weird?"

"I thought you were scheming something," Azusa said. "You even said you were."

"I said I was going to help you. I'm going to get Yui to like you back"

"Eh? Ritsu-senpai, I don't think she's like that. "

Ritsu waved away Azusa's concern. "She might be. I'll just do some harmless poking around."

"Ritsu-senpai," Azusa whined, "that won't help. What happens if she catches on?"

"Listen Azusa, I can be sneaky about it. If she can like you the same way you like her I'll find out. Then you can do something about it. How does that sound?" Ritsu asked.

"I don't know, it just seems like I'm moving a little fast. I only just told you about- about me and you're talking about telling the others and getting Yui-senpai to like me and it just seems... a little much."

Ritsu pursed her lips. She didn't want Azusa to be upset, but she really thought Yui might have feelings for Azusa as well. The way she hugged and doted on Azusa, her consideration for the younger girl and- that was it!

"Azusa," Ritsu said. "You're very special to Yui. Think about it, does she act the same to anyone else? Hug anyone like she hugs you?"

"No," Azusa said. She turned Ritsu's words over in her head. Yui _did_ treat her differently. Special differently. "Do you really think she could like me back?" she asked.

"Of course I do. Come on, you're worrying too much."

After all they had talked about Ritsu figured they could use some easy amusement. She roped Azusa into playing a video game with her. Azusa wasn't very good, but she had fun, and when she left she felt lighter.

Later, in bed, Ritsu thought over everything Azusa had said. About her feelings for Yui, her thoughts about other girls, and what she had said about Ritsu herself. She found it hard to get to sleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

After school and practice the girls headed to Yui's house. When they entered the house it smelled absolutely delicious.

Ui cheerfully greeted them. "Hello everyone! I made some snacks to help you keep you energy up while you study. There are also leftovers ready to heat up if you'd like dinner as well."

The girls thanked her, and Ritsu got the beginnings of a plan in her head. Mugi asked what Ui and Azusa would do while the older girls studied.

"We're going to dinner with Jun, then to her house to hang out," Ui said.

"I know it will be difficult for you, Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai, but try to get some studying done," Azusa said.

Yui saluted her and Ritsu said, "Don't worry, we'll be good." She gave Azusa a wink when no one was looking. Azusa frowned at her in return.

Ui and Azusa said their goodbyes and left. Yui led the way to her room and the four of them set to studying. It didn't take long for Ritsu to get bored with it, but she tried to soldier on until her head couldn't take any more.

"Time for a break," she declared as she flopped dramatically on the table they shared.

"It's only been forty minutes," Mio said.

"Come on, my brain can't work when I'm this hungry. Yui, can you get the snacks Ui made?" Ritsu said.

"Yes sir," she said, and left the room.

Mio put her pen down and sat back. "Fine, but only fifteen minutes."

Ritsu flashed Mio her best smile. Studying with Mio was much better than trying to learn from their teachers. Ritsu wasn't sure if it was because the other girl knew her so well or if school was just that boring, but she always learned more from Mio. Plus she was easier to talk into taking breaks.

Yui returned with the snacks and Ritsu set her plan in motion.

"Ah, Ui's too good for you, Yui. Always making you snacks and cleaning up after you. You should give her to me," she said.

"Never," Yui said through a mouthful of cookie. "She's _my_ sister and I'm not sharing her."

"Stingy. I'll just have to make her my wife then," Ritsu said, and grabbed a cookie for herself.

Yui gasped. "Not if I make her my wife first!"

"Eh? You're sisters, you can't do that," Ritsu said. Mio and Mugi looked between the two, very amused. "Get your own wife."

"Fine. Mugi will you be my wife?" Yui asked.

"Me?" Mugi blushed and raised her hands in surprise. "I- I don't know what to say."

"Yes, say yes," Yui said. She stared at Mugi earnestly, waiting for an answer.

"Yui, you shouldn't go around asking people to marry you because you want to be pampered," Mio said.

"Besides," Ritsu said as she slid an arm around Yui and pulled her into a head lock, "who could keep up with the demands of raising a wild Yui?"

Yui tried and failed to get out of Ritsu's hold. That didn't stop her from talking. "Ritsu can't you cook? You can be my wife."

"Ah, I already have a wife, remember?" Yui pouted at her. She continued. "What about Azu-nyan?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea," Yui said. "She can bake and she's clean and she's great for snuggling." Ritsu let her go.

Mio frowned and said, "Yui, you know you would be a wife too. You would have to do something for her."

Ritsu saw an opening and grinned. "Yeah," she said, "you'd have wifely duties to fulfill." She moved her eyebrows up and down for extra impact. Mugi blushed and her eyes took on a glazed look.

"I didn't mean it like that," Mio sputtered.

"Like what?" Yui asked.

Ritsu made kissing faces at her and bounced her eyebrows again. Yui took a moment to figure out what she meant then blushed and 'oh'd'. She got lost in thought for a few more moments.

"That's no good," she said. "I think it'd be nice to be the one to look up, you know?"

Mugi's hands covered her face, trying to hide her blush. Ritsu laughed and Mio shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"Mio's taller than you, you know," Ritsu pointed out.

"Eh? Don't drag me into this."

"Or Azu-nyan could stand on a box," Ritsu said.

Yui nodded. "Ah that's right. Plus Azu-nyan fits really well right here," Yui said as she hugged the air and tired to show where Azusa would fit if she were there.

"So you're saying Mio's not cuddly? Look at her, she's super cuddly," Ritsu said. She couldn't help herself. She loved stirring things up- probably too much, she admitted to herself.

"I didn't mean that," Yui said. She turned to Mio and looked at her very seriously. "Mio I'm sure you're very cuddly too."

"It's alright Yui, Ritsu is just being a pain again," Mio said. She stumbled over her words a little and her blush ruined the composed look she was aiming for.

Ritsu laughed. She laughed at Yui's serious expression, at Mio's stammered response, and at poor Mugi who was looking through her fingers, face clushed and breathing heavy.

"I think that's enough of a break," Mio said.

As Mio tried to steer everyone back to studying, Ritsu mulled over Yui and her reactions. It was hard to tell if she was being her usual air-headed self, but nothing she had said was negative. Nothing against two girls marrying, and she had even put serious thought into kissing Azusa. As far as Ritsu was concerned today was a terrific success- even if she had to endure some studying to get it. 

* * *

**A/N**:A couple of quick things.

This chapter is a little shorter than usual. I'll be going on vacation for a week with limited time to write and almost no internet access. Figured I'd get this chapter up first.

Updates: I'm shooting for once a week. With the chapter length I'm averaging that's very doable. I don't want to over promise, and I don't want to make myself write- I want to do it because it's fun, enjoyably, and forcing yourself to do something tends to grow resentment. That said, the next chapter probably won't be up until two weeks from today.

Finally, and most importantly, this is my first serious attempt at writing something that I want to write- not for school or anything like that. I'd just like to thank you guys for your reviews. I didn't really think about them when I started this story but I really like hearing from readers, and I _really _appreciate any feedback you guys have.

Anyway.

Thanks for reading


	5. Chapter 5

Azusa stood outside of a movie theater waiting for Yui. Yui and the others had had their study day two days ago, and Ritsu had spent most of yesterday convincing Azusa to ask Yui to see a movie with her. She had mentioned how Yui didn't seem bothered by the thought of two girls together, or the idea of Azusa as a wife. Azusa blushed at the thought. Ritsu-senpai could be pretty sadistic sometimes, she thought to herself.

Still, she was meeting Yui today as a friend. She wanted some alone time with Yui- no, she corrected herself, she wanted to hang out just the two of them to see if their relationship could grow. Not that they had a relationship beyond friendship, she just wanted to see if there could be more than that. She groaned- even in her own head she sounded nervous.

She looked around for Yui and eventually spotted her. She appeared lost in thought as she walked towards Azusa and the theater. Azusa called out to her.

"Azu-nyan!" Yui ran up and hugged her.

"Yui-senpai," Azusa said. She blushed and looked around. She was always a little embarrassed when Yui hugged her, but it got worse after she realized her feelings for her senpai. And here they were in public on top of that. She squirmed out of the hug.

"You shouldn't do that in public," she said.

"Ah, sorry, I just can't help myself. You're too cute for your own good," Yui said, completely serious.

Azusa blushed. "Still, you shouldn't do that out here," she said. She turned away from Yui and walked into the theater. Yui followed.

"It's a shame the others couldn't make it," Yui said.

Azusa hmm'ed in agreement. Ritsu had said she would keep Mio and Mugi occupied so Azusa could have time alone with Yui. She wondered briefly what Ritsu had come up with but decided to focus on her time with Yui. She had put a lot of thought into this day after all.

She had picked a comedy. She knew she wouldn't be able to take a romantic movie without blushing so hard she'd catch on fire, and she wasn't a big fan of action movies. Anything too sad or scary wouldn't set a good mood for the rest of the day. Azusa planned to take Yui somewhere to eat after the movie. Nowhere too nice, but certainly a place where they could sit down and chat about the movie, school, life... Certainly not a place for a date though. Because this wasn't a date. At all.

The pair bought their tickets and moved into the projector room. By the time they sat down Azusa got a hold of herself somewhat, and even managed to talk to Yui normally through the ads and previews.

* * *

Mio knocked on the door to Ritsu's house. Ritsu had convinced her and Mugi to spend the day shopping for Yui and Azusa's birthdays. Both birthdays were in November, so getting them both at one time made sense. What didn't make sense was the fact that November was a long time off for Ritsu, who usually bought presents as close to the day of as possible. To see Ritsu planning this far in advance was- the door opened.

"Good morning," Ritsu's brother said. He peered around her. "Is, um, is anyone else coming?"

"Mugi should be around shortly," She said.

"Um, what about the other one? The, uh, shorter one?"

Ritsu appeared then, laughing. "He means Azu-nyan," she said. She draped an arm over Satoshi's shoulders. "I think he has a crush on her."

"Do not," he said. He blushed and struggled out from under his sister's arm. "I was just wondering is all. Since she came over a couple days ago." He moved back into the house.

"Hm?" Mio looked questioningly at Ritsu. Ritsu waved her off.

"Mugi got here a couple of minutes ago," she said. She yelled into the house, "Mugi, come on, Mio's here." She turned back to Mio. "So I was thinking we could check out the music store, and maybe some clothing stores. And we can get dinner and..."

Mio tuned her out. When Mugi joined them they set off to the shopping district. Ritsu rambled and Mugi chimed in occasionally, but Mio wasn't focused on them. She was thinking of what Satoshi said about Azusa. Why had she been at Ritsu's house? Ritsu hadn't mentioned anything about them hanging out. She would have to make it a point to ask Ritsu about it after they were done.

* * *

Azusa was happy. She had made it through the movie without losing her concentration, and dinner had gone over well. They were still in the restaurant, waiting for dessert. She had tried to resist the temptation but Yui had insisted, and Azusa found she couldn't say no to Yui's pouting face.

"Hey Azu-nyan," Yui said.

"Hm?"

"This was fun. We should do this again." Yui beamed at her and Azusa was stricken. She had kept her composure all day but she was starting to wear out. Spending so much time with her crush couldn't be good for her heart. She struggled to find a response. Before she could settle on anything Yui gasped and smiled again.

"Azu-nyan, our dessert is here!" Azusa smiled a little but couldn't get as excited as Yui. The smile Yui had for her dessert had been the same as the one she had pointed at Azusa. It had been nothing special. Yui was just enthusiastic about everything- from her cute underclassman to her dessert. And although she hadn't expected this to be a date, Azusa also hadn't expected to be hurt whenever she was reminded about that.

Yui dug in to her dessert right away. Azusa picked here and there with her fork. She had lost her appetite.

"Azu-nyan, what's wrong?" Yui asked around a mouthful of cake.

"Ah, it's nothing," Azusa said. She looked down at her plate.

Yui frowned and hummed. She looked at her own plate and made a decision.

"Azu-nyan can I have a piece of yours?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, of course."

Yui grabbed Azusa's plate and slid it to her side of the table. Azusa kept her head down. She listened as Yui fumbled around with her fork. When the plate returned to her vision there was an addition to it. Yui had taken half of her cake, but replaced it with what remained of her own piece.

"Yui-senpai, what's this?" she asked.

"Well," Yui said between bites, "it looked like you didn't like your cake. So I gave you some of mine! Hopefully you like it better."

Azusa looked back and forth between Yui's smiling face and her own plate. She tried to suppress the feeling of hope that welled up inside her. She brought some of Yui's cake to her mouth. It was sweet.

* * *

Mio and Ritsu were walking home. The trip had been very successful. They had picked out a guitar cleaning kit for Yui in the hopes that she would take better care of Gitah. For Azusa they picked out sheet music and a pack of picks. They had already seen Mugi off on her train and Mio decided now was a good time to ask Ritsu about Azusa.

The only problem was she wasn't sure where to start. Last time something like this had happened was because she had told Ritsu not to bother her. She didn't remember doing anything like that recently. And she didn't want to seem jealous or like she was blowing something out of proportion. She decided to just jump right in.

"Ritsu. About what Satoshi said today. About Azusa."

"Hm? What was that?" Ritsu asked. Mio frowned. Ritsu didn't look at her. She seemed tense.

"Azusa came over your house?" she tried again.

"Yeah," Ritsu said. She didn't say anything else.

"What for?"

"Ah, y'know, she just wanted some advice."

"Advice about what?" Mio asked.

"Timing and stuff. I ran through some beats."

"But why you? No offense but you tend to go a little too quickly when you keep a beat."

"If it's the same as when we're playing I don't see what the big deal is," Ritsu said. Her shoulders were hunched. She still wasn't looking at Mio. "Hey, do you always have to rag on my drumming?"

Mio knew what Ritsu was doing. She was deflecting, trying to get Mio to switch topics and be defensive. She was hiding something.

"It's constructive advice," Mio said. "And I was just wondering why you didn't say anything. It seemed like you were hiding something."

Mio watched a blush creep up Ritsu's neck. "Well I'm not. It just didn't seem important, like I said," Ritsu said.

"Ritsu." She looked at Mio but quickly looked away. Mio felt her anger take over. "If you're going to lie to me you should try hiding it better," she said as she sped up.

Ritsu called after her but she ignored it. She trailed after Mio and occasionally tried to talk to her. She ignored each attempt and soon found herself at her house, shutting the door on Ritsu.

* * *

Azusa and Yui enjoyed a leisurely stroll after they left the restaurant. Yui spent most of the time talking about the dessert and how much she needed to go back. The way she talked made Azusa think Yui wouldn't be able to live without that dessert in her life. She had giggled at the thought, and felt at ease by the time they reached her house.

"I had a lot of fun today Azu-nyan," Yui said.

"Mm. That was a good movie," Azusa said.

"And a good meal. I'm glad you got to enjoy some dessert," Yui said.

"Yeah. It was a fun date," Azusa said. A moment passed before she realized what she said. She blushed. "Not that this was a date," she quickly added.

"Hm? Sure it was," Yui said. "Isn't that what it's called when two friends go out together?"

"Ah, yeah. A friend date. It was a fun friend date."

"Azu-nyan your face is all red. It was like that a lot earlier too," Yui said.

"It's probably nothing," Azusa said. She cast about for a good excuse. "Just good circulation I guess." It sounded weak to her own ears.

"Are you sure? It looks more like a blush to me, and you said... Azu-nyan-"

"Yui-senpai!" Azusa cut her off. "I should get inside. Thank you for hanging out with me today." She bowed, then chastised herself. What was she doing, people don't bow to their friends for something like that. She straightened and cursed her stiff awkwardness. "Have a good day."

Azusa retreated into her house and quickly shut the door. She leaned on it and slid to the floor. Her head fell to her knees and her arms moved to cover it. The day had been going so well. Too well. She listened to Yui's footsteps as the older girl left and hoped she could come up with an excuse for what she said.


	6. Chapter 6

Ritsu was almost late to school. Mio hadn't come around to walk with her, and she wasn't used to leaving the house without Mio being there. She was shocked when she had checked her phone and saw the time. Mio's absence had one benefit- she could talk to Azusa about how her day with Yui had gone. However when she reached Azusa's classroom Ui informed her that Azusa hadn't come to school.

Without Azusa and her situation to think about, her mind wandered to Mio. She felt bad about lying to her, but she couldn't reveal Azusa's secret. She thought she gave a good excuse to Mio, but the other girl had seen through it and kept pushing. It made sense. Mio knew her better than anyone after all.

Still, even before their fight Mio had been ignoring her more often lately. She didn't think she was being any more annoying than usual. Sure she joked about barnacles or blood, but after all this time she figured Mio would be more used to it. Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe Mio was getting fed up with her. That thought gave Ritsu pause.

She spent the rest of the day in a daze. When it came time to go to the club room she saw Yui was out of it too. With Mio still fuming poor Mugi was the only member who wanted to be there. The rest of them were quiet even when she tried to make conversation. They left half eaten cake and half drunk tea to practice, but quickly gave that up as hopeless. The four of them couldn't stay on beat or find a consistent groove. Ritsu called an end to the practice.

The walk home was silent. When Yui and Mugi split off, Ritsu tried to apologize to Mio again. The other girl ignored her. She went home in an even worse mood than when she left that morning. She trudged up to her room as soon as she got in.

She called Azusa. She figured if she couldn't help herself she could at least help someone else. Once the other girl told her what happened at the end of her not-date Ritsu felt worse. Azusa was on the verge of tears, but Ritsu managed to calm her down somewhat and convince her to go to school the next day. When they said their goodbyes Ritsu flopped onto her bed. It had been a draining day.

The next day didn't start very well for Ritsu. Mio again didn't walk with her. She saw Azusa before class but the other girl only offered a weak smile and a few dismissive words. She returned to her own classroom despondent.

Ritsu noticed Yui was in a similar funk. She was staring at nothing with her eyebrows drawn together. It wasn't a look she often had. The other girl had a lot on her mind according to Azusa. Ritsu hoped she hadn't been wrong, and that the airhead didn't really mind Azusa's feelings.

She glanced at Mio next. She was organizing her school supplies. Her face was pulled into a frown and her actions were quick and agitated. Ritsu knew it would take a lot to make up for their fight. She sighed.

When she looked over at Mio again someone else caught her eye. Mugi was fidgeting in her seat. Mugi had noticed everyone's bad moods; it would be hard not to. Everyone was down and none of them were talking. Ritsu knew Mugi was sensitive to that kind of stuff. She must have been suffering too.

The rest of the day dragged by. The other students noticed something was wrong with the usually lively group. Sawako-sensai even pulled Ritsu aside and asked about what was going on. She gave a vague answer, but decided she had to fix this. Somehow.

After classes were over Ritsu dragged her feet to the club room. She was relieved to see all of the other members there already. Mugi had set out plates of cake and cups of tea, but no one was touching theirs. Azusa and Yui were looking anywhere except at each other, and Mio was looking between the two with a concerned look. She had finally noticed how out of sorts her friends were. Ritsu took a seat.

After a few minutes of silence she was agitated. The club room was never supposed to be this quiet. It should have been filled with idle chatter or silly giggles. Or their music; Ritsu probably should have thought of that first, she realized sheepishly. They were in a band after- that was it!

Ritsu stared at Mugi until the other girl looked back at her. She nodded toward Mugi, then toward herself, then to their instruments. Mugi looked confused, so Ritsu tried again. She added some short gestures, miming playing a keyboard. Mugi nodded. Ritsu hoped she really understood.

She gulped down her tea and slammed the empty cup on the saucer. "Mugi, let's go!" she said. She leapt over the couch that separated the tables from their instruments. She added a dramatic roll before she hopped up and sat at her drum set. Mugi exclaimed a light 'oh' and took the long route around the couch to her keyboard.

Ritsu had already begun playing by the time Mugi was set at her keyboard. She started with Gohan wa Okazu. She figured since it had mostly drums and keyboard to start with, so the two of them would be able to repeat the beginning of the song until the others joined in. If they joined in.

Yui, Azusa, and Mio were staring at the other two. They exchanged confused looks before Azusa stood up. Slowly she walked over and picked up her guitar and started playing her part. Mio smiled and shook her head before she followed suit. Yui jumped up and excitedly ran over. She grinned at her friends before she picked up her guitar and jumped in.

It was rough. Mio and Ritsu couldn't come to one beat. Yui and Azusa weren't in harmony. Mugi's keyboard sounded out of place. They weren't playing well. But they _were_ playing together.

When the song ended Ritsu kept drumming. She called out the name of another song and rolled along into it. The others were confused but kept playing. After the song ended Ritsu kept going. She pushed the band through song after song. The longer they played the more in tune they sounded. Mio and Ritsu foundtheir rhythm and Yui and Azusa synchronized nicely. Mugi tied everything together and Ho-kage Tea Time played their music.

* * *

"Ritsu, what was that for?" Yui whined. The five bandmates were walking home tired. Ritsu had run them through all of their songs, some of them twice.

"Eh, I just felt like playing. We haven't had a good practice in a while," Ritsu said.

"But we didn't take any breaks," Yui said. "I can barely feel my arms."

"I don't want to hear it, Yui," Ritsu said. "I was moving my arms and my legs."

"But you were sitting down," Mio said.

Ritsu waved her hand. "You guys never get any exercise anyway. I thought you guys would appreciate getting some."

"What are you trying to say?" Mugi asked. She gave Ritsu an accusatory look.

"Ah, nothing. I wasn't saying anything," Ritsu said. She stammered some more before Mugi giggled.

"You were just messing with me? If I weren't so tired..." she trailed off threateningly.

"Too tired to think of anything Ritsu-senpai?" Azusa asked.

"She's reaping what she sowed," Mio said. "We should let her have it if she's going to complain."

"Oy oy, none of that now," Ritsu said.

"But Ritsu we never get to let you have it," Yui said.

"Yeah Ritsu-senpai, we have to take this opportunity while we can."

The others continued to tease Ritsu until they had to split. She took it in stride, just happy that everyone was talking again. After she and Mio waved the others away she knew she had to try and apologize again. Eventually she worked herself up to try one.

"Um, Mio," she started.

"Hm?"

"Listen, about what you wanted to know. About me and Azusa." Mio didn't look at her, but nodded for Ritsu to go on.

"I want to tell you what's up. It's just... not really my place to say." Mio looked at Ritsu then. Ritsu kept going. "But I want to tell you. I'll talk to Azusa, and maybe she'll let me tell you. It's not really up to me."

Mio stopped walking. "Ritsu," she said. "Do you mean it?"

Ritsu was surprised, but happy Mio seemed to be considering her words. "Of course. I didn't want to hide anything or anything, it was just, um," she fidgeted, "private."

Mio stopped and looked at her. "Something private between you and Azusa... Ritsu..." she couldn't think of anything to say. "Nevermind."

"I'm serious. I want to tell you. I'll ask Azusa tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she won't mind, and I don't think you'd have a problem with it," Ritsu said.

Mio nodded and started walking again. "Um, sorry about everything," Ritsu added.

"Apology accepted."

The two continued to walk in silence. Ritsu wondered if she had said enough. When they reached Mio's house she said goodbye but was stopped by Mio.

"Would you like to sleep over tonight?"

"What?" Ritsu looked at Mio, surprised.

"You have enough clothes left here to wear tomorrow, and my parents won't mind." Mio wasn't looking at her. She seemed to be a little embarrassed.

Ritsu had trouble shaking her disbelief. She was happy enough Mio had forgiven her, she hadn't expected the other girl to go as far as to ask her to sleep over. She knew she had to take this opportunity.

"I'd love to."


	7. Chapter 7

Yui laid in her bed and contemplated Azusa. The younger girl had acted odd at the end of their date. She had blushed and stuttered and been generally weird. Well, throughout the whole day she had been a little weird. Sometimes she was carefree and at others she seemed to ignore Yui. Yui decided she needed some help with this. She called Mugi.

"Hello Yui, how are you?" Mugi asked when she answered her phone.

"Mugi! I'm confused," Yui said.

Mugi giggled. "What about?"

"Remember a couple days ago when you were busy with your family?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well me and Azusa hung ou- is it hung out or hanged out?" Yui asked.

"Hm, I think it's hung out," Mugi said. She giggled at Yui's question.

"Ah, thank you. So me and Azusa hung out. We saw a movie and went to dinner and it was a lot of fun."

"That's good," Mugi said.

"Yep. Except, when we were saying goodbye she started acting weird. Well, she was acting a little weird before too, but then she said she had fun, but then she got all embarrassed and now I don't know what to do."

"Ah," Mugi said. She wasn't sure what Yui meant. "Why did she get embarrassed?"

"I don't know," Yui said. "Maybe it was because I had to correct her. She doesn't like being wrong you know."

"That could be it. What was she wrong about?"

"Well she said it wasn't a date. But that's what it's called when two people hang out, right?"

"A- a date!" Mugi said. "It was a date?"

"Sure it was. Geeze, what is with you two?"

"Ah, Yui, a date... you usually call a romantic night out with the person you love a date."

"What? But I go on dates with you guys all the time," Yui said.

"I think friends can go on dates, but it's used more the other way," Mugi said. "Do you think that's what Azusa thought? Maybe that's why she was embarrassed."

"Ah, but she said it first. She said it was a fun date," Yui said.

"Oh." Mugi sounded flustered. "Oh, so you think that's what, um, that's what's going on?"

Yui was silent for a few moments. "Mugi, she said it was a date," she said.

"Ah, yeah, you said that."

"Thanks Mugi, I have a lot to think about," Yui said.

"You're welcome. Although I'm not sure what I did," Mugi said.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you."

* * *

Mio and Ritsu were getting ready to turn in. They had eaten with Mio's family and spent most of the night looking up concert sets from their favorite artists. Mio had wanted to get some studying done, but every time she tried Ritsu put on Mio's favorite artist, and the taller girl couldn't resist watching more sets. By the time Mio realized they hadn't done any studying it was almost time for bed.

After they laid out the mat Ritsu would sleep on Mio decided she needed to talk to her. "Ritsu, thank you for coming over tonight."

"Hm? Of course, why wouldn't I?" Ritsu asked.

"W-well it is a school night," Mio said. She couldn't say that she was feeling bad. Even though Ritsu was hiding something from her, ignoring Ritsu had still hurt. Both of them.

Ritsu waved Mio's concerns away. "We don't have anything important tomorrow." She sat on the mat.

Mio wanted to say more, but she stopped herself at the look on Ritsu's face. She had a light blush on her face. Maybe she had understood Mio. It would make sense. Ritsu knew her better than anyone after all.

"School itself is important," Mio said. She dropped onto her bed.

"Well that's what I have you for. You pay attention so I don't have to," Ritsu said. Even in the dark room her grin was bright.

"What am I going to do with you?" Mio asked nobody.

"Play in a band," Ritsu deadpanned.

Mio shook her head and smiled. After a few more minutes of idle chatter Ritsu began to drift off. When she was sure Ritsu was asleep, Mio rolled onto her side and studied Ritsu's sleeping face. It was missing it's usual mischievous look. Cute, Mio thought. Peaceful sleeping Ritsu was cute.

She had known for a while now that her feelings towards Ritsu were... a little different from what she felt for her other friends. Ritsu had always been able to get under her skin. The times she did it to annoy Mio were offset by the times she helped her. Whether it was getting her to laugh before a presentation or pushing her outside her comfort zone, Ritsu seemed to understand her in a way no one else did.

Mio hated that at first. The other girl had been so pushy- and still was, really- when they were younger. It was almost to the point of bullying. But Ritsu's soft side, her caring side shone through on occasion. And Mio was glad it did, and that she had kept Ritsu around. She never would have thought that she would be able to get in front of an auditorium full of people and sing a song, but she had done just that. Even after the biggest embarrassment of her life, she returned to the stage and performed again.

And it was all thanks to the girl snoring on her floor. The girl who teased her mercilessly. The girl who made her cry. The girl who made her laugh. The girl who pushed and wheedled her way into Mio's heart: her best friend. Her best friend who she was finding more attractive every day.

It had started innocently enough. Ritsu naturally drew attention. She was lively and bold. But Mio found herself looking even when Ritsu wasn't being loud. She found herself admiring Ritsu's lean build, or following the movement of her arms and legs when she drummed. She watched Ritsu's face when she was concentrating, or zoning out. She studied the colors of Ritsu's eyes, and traced the other girl's lips with her own eyes. And eventually she realized friends didn't normally do that, not the way she did.

Mio had tried to come to terms with her growing attraction. She was certain Ritsu wouldn't feel the same way- couldn't feel the same way. So she wrote lyrics, things that she wouldn't share with the club, and tried her best not to stare too hard or for too long. But with Ritsu asleep, she could indulge herself a little.

It was rare to see Ritsu like this. Her face was peaceful, a contrast to her usual sly looks. Her hair was up in its ridiculous pineapple style. Mio moved her eyes down to Ritsu's neck. It was thin and pale, and drew Mio's gaze further, to the other girl's collarbone. Half of it was under a blanket, but half was enough for Mio. If she saw any more she wasn't sure what she'd do.

Mio knew she had to stop herself. She turned onto her back. But even with Ritsu out of sight, she wasn't out of mind. Mio couldn't help but wonder what Ritsu was hiding from her. Whatever it was, it involved Azusa as well. She got a sinking feeling in her gut. From the way Ritsu was acting, it was something... something... something romantic. A hidden tryst between two girls, senpai and kohai... Ritsu and Azusa.

Mio spared a quick glance at Ritsu. If her best friend was going out with Azusa, could she put her own feelings aside? Could she be supportive? Mio wasn't sure, but she knew she would try. For Ritsu. She closed her eyes and settled into the bed, determined to get to sleep.

* * *

Yui got to school early the next day. She stood around the lockers and waited for Azusa. She saw Mio and Ritsu come in together. The two were laughing and talking. Yui was glad to see it after how tense things were between them. Still, she hid behind a row of lockers. She wasn't here to talk to them.

Eventually she spotted Azusa. Yui took a deep breath and walked up to the other girl. "Hello Azu-nyan," she said.

Azusa startled and turned to her. "Yui-senpai!" She turned back towards her locker. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I wanted to talk to you about our date," Yui said.

Azusa blushed. "It wasn't a date."

"Ah, right, right. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Azusa looked at Yui. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I think it should have been a date. Or, I think we should try again," Yui said.

"What!? Yui-senpai, what are you talking about?"

"It's just not fair if you think it's a date and I don't. A romantic date that is, since I thought it was just a friendly date."

"Yui-senpai, I... I think I still don't get it."

"Well you were acting weird, so I talked to Mugi about it, and she said that maybe you thought it was a date."

"Ah, you talked to Mugi-senpai?" Azusa began to feel anxious.

"Yep. And I think she was right. You thought it was a real date, didn't you Azu-nyan?" Yui moved closer to Azusa.

"N-no, not at all. We were just hanging out, as friends." Azusa's face flushed further.

Yui wasn't buying it. "Even though you said it was a fun date?" Azusa nodded. "Even though you're blushing so much right now?" Azusa turned her head away and nodded again.

Yui put on a thoughtful look. "That's okay. I think it'll be better when we both know it's a date. So what do you say?"

Azusa was confused. Yui was throwing a lot at her at once. "I- I don't know."

"Yes, you should say yes," Yui said excitedly. "I know you think dates are supposed to be with someone special, and you are!" Yui grabbed both of Azusa's hands with both of hers. "To me, that is. I mean, you're special, but you're also special to me. Do you know what I mean?"

Azusa's blush was out of control. She was completely overwhelmed. "You're asking me on a date?"

"Mmhmm," Yui nodded excitedly.

"A real d-date?"

Yui nodded again.

"You think I'm special?"

"You are!" Yui gave her most earnest stare.

Azusa was stunned. She was certain she was dreaming. Still, she wasn't going to waste this opportunity. She couldn't find her voice. She settled on a nod.

"Hurray!" The warning bell rang. "Ah, we need to get going," Yui said. "We can set up a time after school, okay?"

Azusa nodded again. Yui ran off with a spring in her step. Azusa dazedly gathered her things and staggered to her own classroom, wondering what had just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

Ritsu was completely confused. All day Yui had been in a fantastic mood. She giggled and rambled whenever she could. She stared out the window with a goofy grin on her face. She bounced in her seat. In short, she was a little more rambunctious than usual. It was a stark contrast to the dazed, thoughtful girl who had been there just yesterday. Her little practice session had really paid off, Ritsu thought to herself.

When classes ended Ritsu and the others headed toward the club room. Before they got there Ritsu felt her phone vibrate. Azusa was calling her.

"You guys go on, I've gotta answer this," she said.

After the others were out of sight Ritsu answered. "Ah, Azu-nyan! How can I help you today?"

"Ritsu-senpai, I need to talk to you right away. Are you alone?"

"Yep," Ritsu said.

"Can you come to the gate?" Azusa asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Please do. And hurry," Azusa said.

Ritsu made her way to the gate. Something had Azusa fired up. And with the way Yui was acting, maybe things were looking up for the younger girl. When she arrived, she saw Azusa bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What's this? You look excited today," Ritsu said.

"Ritsu-senpai something big happened." Azusa wrung her hands together.

"I kind of guessed that already," Ritsu said.

"Yui-senpai asked me on a date."

Ritsu perked up. "That's great," she said. "When? Where are you going? What are you gonna do?"

Azusa fidgeted. "I don't know. The bell rang before we could figure anything out. But Ritsu-senpai, she asked me out! What do I do?"

"Huh? It sounds like you don't have to do anything."

"I have to go on a date with Yui-senpai!"

"Well yeah. But isn't that what you wanted?" Ritsu asked.

"Yes. I just didn't think it would happen. And now I don't know what to do," Azusa said.

"How about a movie?"

"Ritsu-senpai, please take this seriously! We already did that."

Ritsu scratched her head. "Azusa, this isn't really my area of expertise."

"Ah- sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that I'm really nervous." The two stood in silence for a few moments.

"Well, she asked you out, right?" Ritsu eventually asked.

"Yeah."

"Then, wouldn't it be up to her?"

"Ah-" Azusa said. "I didn't think of that." She took a few moments to consider Ritsu's words. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel better."

Ritsu laughed and put an arm around Azusa. "I think you're not giving Yui enough credit. She can do some pretty amazing things when she puts her mind to it."

"I know. I guess... I guess I'm still just nervous. What if Yui-senpai is just doing this to- to humor me. Or what if it's not a good date and she decides she doesn't like me anymore." Azusa sounded more forlorn with each word.

"Does that sound like Yui to you?"

Azusa shook her head. "I still worry though."

"Listen up. If Yui asked you on a date she likes you. If she likes you she'll have fun no matter what you guys do. How's that sound?"

Azusa looked at the ground. "Almost convincing," she said. Ritsu laughed.

"Come on, just be yourself. Yui's crazy when it comes to you."

"She did say I was special," Azusa said. She kept her face down, but looked at Ritsu.

"Exactly. So just don't worry so much and go for it."

"It sounds so easy when you say it." Azusa said. She was quiet for a moment. "I- I guess I can try."

"That's the spirit," Ritsu said. "Now come on, we've gotta get to the club room."

* * *

After practice, Azusa found herself alone with Yui on their walk home. The other girl took the opportunity to suggest that the two of them have a picnic that coming weekend. Azusa stuttered a little, but she managed to agree.

For the next three days she couldn't meet Yui's eyes without blushing. When Yui greeted her with a hug like she usually did, Azusa would be useless for a couple of minutes afterwards. When she tried to scold her senpai, the older girl would just giggle and nuzzle up to Azusa again. The others would laugh, and Ritsu would give her a suggestive wink.

The day of the picnic Azusa was nervous and unfocused. She had spent all of the previous night making sweets and snacks. Yui had said she'd bring sandwiches, which Azusa took to mean Ui would prepare sandwiches and Yui would only have to grab them in the morning. That thought made Azusa relax and laugh, and she realized she had been trying to find arm holes in a skirt for the last five minutes. She shook herself off. She had to focus.

By the time she finished getting dressed she had to leave. Deciding what to wear had taken a lot of her time. She was dressed simply in a knee length skirt and a long jacket over a tank top. On one hand she had wanted to dress nice to make a good impression, but on the other she didn't want to wear something that would be too gaudy. She went with simple, if only to save time.

The walk to meet up with Yui was spent in a haze. If she weren't carrying her snacks she was sure she'd be wringing her hands. She had never been more nervous in her life. Despite her lack of focus she made it to the park in one piece.

She was walking around the park looking for Yui when arms wrapped around her. She was startled, but Yui's voice yelling her nickname in her ear at least let her know who had grabbed her. She turned around to face her the older girl.

"Yui-senpai you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Eheh, sorry, sorry. I was just so excited to see you. Come on, I put a blanket down over here." Yui grabbed Azusa's hand and pulled her along. Azusa was glad Yui's back was to her. She knew she was blushing.

A thought had occurred to Azusa when she saw Yui. The older girl was wearing jeans and a nice blouse. She was dressed for a date The two of them were about to sit down to a picnic and have a date. Their first date.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I made chicken sandwiches and some steamed vegetables we can have," Yui said.

"You made them?" Azusa asked. She smiled and decided to tease the other girl. "Without help from Ui? I hope we don't get sick."

"Well, she helped me with the timing. But I did all the cooking. I used the stove and seasoned everything myself," Yui said. She turned and smiled at Azusa. "I wanted to make a good impression for our date."

Azusa felt her stomach twist. Her palms grew clammy. Yui had put a lot of thought into today. If she was taking the idea of them dating seriously... Azusa knew she couldn't afford to mess this up.

"I- I baked some cookies." Yui ooh'ed at that. Azusa looked at the ground. "And I brought some fruit as a healthy snack."

"Those sound good too," Yui said. She kept her eyes on the cookies as she spoke.

The two of them sat down on the blanket. Silence settled over them. Yui was biting her lip. Azusa's mind was blank. She wanted to say something, anything, but nothing was coming to her. She felt her stomach drop. The date had just started and she was already feeling to awkward to go on.

Talking to Yui was usually so easy. Of course, a lot of that time was filled with Yui's idle chatter. The older girl was gifted when it came to talking to others. She could start a conversation with anyone about anything, and at the end of it have a new friend. It was something Azusa admired about her senpai, but something that seemed to be failing them today. If only she weren't so shy, she could-

Azusa jumped as she felt something wet hit the top of her head. She looked up. Grey clouds covered the sky above her. She wondered how she hadn't noticed those sooner. Had she really been that out of it earlier?

"Ah- a raindrop," she heard Yui say. When she looked down she saw Yui looking at her own arm. "Ui said this might happen, but she said there was only a small chance. Do you think it'll get worse?"

"I don't know," Azusa said. "I didn't hear anything about it."

Yui looked around their blanket. "We're already here, and if it was only a small chance maybe-" she was cut off by more rain. It was a light drizzle, but the darker clouds in the distance promised worse to come.

The two girls squealed and packed everything up. Yui's house was closer, so they made a dash to safety. They were out of breath when they arrived, and after Yui got the door open they collapsed in the hall. Their eyes met as they panted and they broke into a fit of giggles.

When they calmed down Azusa spoke up. "Looks like we should have checked the weather before we made plans." Yui hummed in agreement.

"What- um, what should we do now?" Azusa asked. She looked at Yui. The older girl had a determined look on her face.

"We're still having that picnic," she said. "Come on, let's put the blanket down in the living room. I'm not gonna let some rain ruin our date."

Azusa felt hope swell up within her. Yui was really into this. It shouldn't be nerve-wracking- it just meant that she liked her. What was it Ritsu had said? If they liked each other they would have fun no matter what they did?

After everything was set up in the living room Azusa found it much easier to talk to Yui. Running through the rain and laughing with Yui had put her at ease. And as she sat across from her senpai on a blanket, having a picnic indoors, she felt a warm, easy happiness settle over her.

Despite the rough start, the rest of their date went smoothly. The food was delicious, and they laughed over the rain, the club, and Yui's latest thoughts on school and how unnecessary it was. They broke out Yui's guitar and spent time playing phrases and pieces for each other. Before they knew it, it was time for Azusa to head home. The two packed everything up and Yui walked Azusa to the door.

Yui was grinning at Azusa as they stood in her doorway. "Azu-nyan, did you enjoy our date?" Azusa nodded.

"Good," Yui said. She fidgeted for a moment. "Then can we go on another soon?"

Azusa perked up. "Yes! Absolutely."

Yui smiled widely at her. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Azusa stared at Yui's grinning face for a few moments. There was still something she wanted to do.

"This was our first real date. Our first romantic date, right Yui-Senpai?" she said.

"Mmhmm."

Azusa gulped. Rtisu's words floated through her head; don't worry too much, just go for it. She squared her shoulders.

"Don't- don't most first dates end with a- with a kiss," she managed to say. Her face was hot, but she kept herself steady. Yui blinked, surprised, and a light blush dusted her cheeks.

"Mmm, I think so," she said, nodding.

"Then, if it's alright," Azusa said as she stepped towards the older girl. "I think it's time for one."

Yui had a serious look on her face. It was the same look she had when she was learning a new chord, or practicing a difficult part in a song. Azusa saw her step in before she closed her own eyes. She felt one hand on her cheek and the other on her shoulder. Her own hands went to Yui's waist. And then a light pressure on her lips that lasted a few moments before it pulled away.

When she opened her eyes she saw Yui with a bashful look on her face. "How was it?" the older girl asked.

Azusa moved in and kissed her again.


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Azusa did when she saw Ritsu was grab her in a ferocious hug. The older girl wriggled out of it and tried to make sense of what she was saying. She was babbling, a little too excited to form coherent sentences. Eventually she calmed down enough to tell Ritsu all the details of her date with Yui. When she was done, Ritsu laughed.

"That was the sweetest thing I ever heard. I think I might barf!"

"Ritsu-senpai," Azusa said, exasperated. "I'm being serious here. The date went well, and the kiss was so sweet." Ritsu made retching noises. Azusa frowned. "Geeze, sorry I said anything. I was just excited and I wanted to talk to somebody. And I don't have many options."

"Eh? Why not? If you and Yui are dating won't you tell Mio and Mugi?"

"We went on one date. I don't want to jinx anything. And besides..." Azusa trailed off. She was reluctant to go on.

"Besides what?" Ritsu prompted.

"They might not approve," Azusa said in a small voice. "They might think it's weird, or gross."

"Ah. Yeah, I guess they could," Ritsu said. "But I really don't think they will."

"I know they probably won't, but it doesn't seem to matter. I'm still scared."

Ritsu scratched her neck nervously. She wasn't sensitive enough for this. "You don't have to say anything, I guess. You can just take your time with it. And hey, you can always talk to me about this stuff. I might not be good at giving you advice, but I can listen."

Azusa looked away. She hadn't meant to make her senpai uncomfortable. "Thank you, Ritsu-senpai," she said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah yeah, don't mention it. Now let's go, it's almost time for class."

* * *

At the end of the day everyone gathered in the club room for practice. Of course, they couldn't have practice without snacks and tea first. As they sat at their tables Mio decided to ask about something that had bothered her all day.

"Yui, you've been in a great mood all day. Did something good happen?"

Yui gulped down the cake she had been chewing on and nodded. "Mmhmm. Me and Azusa went on a date yesterday!"

Ritsu jumped and made surprised noise.

"Yui-senpai," Azusa said, embarrassed.

"That's nice," Mio said at the same time.

Mugi blushed and brought her hands to her face. "Oh, that phone call..." she said. "You mean it was like a- like a real date?"

"Yep. With a kiss at the end and everything."

Mio started and looked at Ritsu to see how she would react. Azusa gasped and yelled Yui's name. Sawako spit out the tea she had been drinking, surprising everyone.

"You were here?" Ritsu said.

"Why do you always say that?" Sawako said.

"Because you always appear out of nowhere."

"Geeze, I was here the whole time. You should pay more attention. More importantly, didn't Yui just say something outrageous?"

Everyone turned to look at Yui. Next to her Azusa had her head on the table. Yui looked confused.

"What was outrageous?" she asked.

Sawako waved her hand in front of her. "Maybe not entirely outrageous. This is an all girls school after all, girls play at going out all the time."

"We're not playing," Yui said. She put on her best serious face. "It was a real date."

Mio was looking at Ritsu. "Is that- is that okay?" she said.

Ritsu looked confused. "You're asking me?"

"I think it's great," Mugi said.

"Thank you Mugi," Yui said.

"I thought... well..." Mio didn't finish her thought.

Azusa heard enough. She jumped up and yelled, "Yui-senpai, you idiot!" and ran out the door.

The girls and Sawako let out a collective 'ah'.

"What did I do?" Yui asked.

"I don't think she wanted you to just say you guys went on a date," Ritsu said.

"That... that makes sense," Mio said. "How'd you figure that one out, you're usually terrible when it comes to stuff like that."

Ritsu blushed a little. "Yui, you should go find Azusa and apologize."

Yui nodded and left the club room to find Azusa. After she was gone everyone turned to look at Ritsu.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you know anything about this?" Sawako asked.

Ritsu sighed and began to tell them about how Azusa had asked for her advice. She told them about encouraging the younger girl to go on a trial date and how Azusa had slipped up but ended up revealing her feelings. And of course she told them about Yui and Azusa's date. When she was done Mugi had a question.

"So the two of them are serious?"

"Ah, yeah. Azusa is, for sure. And Yui might be a little air-headed, but she wouldn't go on a date with Azusa lightly."

"Oh my," Mugi said, a blush forming on her face. She smiled. "Good for them."

"Yeah," Mio said. "I guess it's not so surprising, with the way Yui acts towards Azusa."

"It is surprising that Azusa took the initiative though," Mugi said.

"Oh man, I feel bad now," Sawako said. "Azusa is pretty serious about, well, everything. She probably didn't appreciate when I said they were playing at going out."

"Yeah Sawa-chan, you were pretty inconsiderate," Ritsu said. "You should really apologize next time you see her."

Sawako sighed. "I know, I know. Still, it does happen that girls sometimes pretend to go out. Of course, Azusa doesn't seem like the type to do that."

The group was quiet for a few moments before Ritsu noticed something about Mugi.

"Mugi, do you have a fever?" she asked with a smirk. "Your face is all red."

"Ah, no, nothing like that. I'm sure it'll stop in a few minutes."

"I think you're happier about this than Azusa is."

"No way, no way," Mugi giggled.

"Ah," Ritsu said and pulled out her phone. "I got a message from Azusa."

"What does it say?" Mio asked.

"She says they're not coming back to practice today. They're heading home." They shared a worried look.

"I hope she's not too upset," Mugi said.

"I'm sure she just needs some time," Ritsu said. She looked around and frowned. "I don't think practice would be worth it without our guitarists."

Mio and Mugi sighed, disappointed. Ritsu contemplated for a moment. "Although, if we knew someone who could play, they could fill in and really help us out." She looked hard at Sawako. Mugi and Mio followed suit. It took a moment for Sawako to notice they were staring at her.

"Eh? Me? I came here to relax, not be roped into playing the guitar."

"But you are the club advisor, right?" Mugi said.

"And Azusa running off was kind of your fault," Mio said.

"No no, that was Yui's fault. Yui's fault," Sawako said.

Ritsu got up and put a hand on her teacher's shoulder. "You didn't help," she said. "And besides, what would the other students think if we let them know what you're really like."

Sawako hung her head for a few moments. "You girls are something else. If that's how it's going to be," she said, her tone changing, "I'll just have to show you kids the meaning of rock!" With that she jumped up and picked up Azusa's guitar. The girls walked over to their instruments.

"None of that," Ritsu said. "You're going to play songs like Fluffy Fluffy Time and you'll like it."

Sawako grumbled to herself but fell in beside the girls anyway. They only managed a short practice before giving up and heading home in low spirits.


	10. Chapter 10

When she left the classroom Azusa stormed down the stairs and stopped in the empty hall. Everyone was in their clubs or already on their way homes, so she'd have the hallway to herself for a while. She sighed and slumped onto the bottom step of the staircase.

Her anger at Yui was fading, however it was being replaced by worry. She knew that her friends were probably just surprised, but their reaction to hearing about her and Yui's date hadn't been encouraging. Mugi had seemed happy, but that was to be expected. Mio had seemed shocked, like she couldn't believe what she had heard. She had even asked Ritsu if it was okay, which, considering that Ritsu already knew about Yui and Azusa and approved, would probably turn out to be fine. Still, the fact that the bassist had been hesitant, had thought it weird enough to ask her friend about it was worrying.  
The worst had been Sawako. Azusa was sure her advisor hadn't meant to make light of her feelings. She was aware of the reputation all girls' schools had when it came to relationships, and Sawako had probably thought she was just another case of practice dating. But Azusa was certain of her own feelings on the matter.

She was less certain of Yui's feelings however. Maybe the older girl was using her as practice. Or maybe she just felt bad and was humoring her. Even if the she wasn't aware that she was, Yui could have a change of heart, or decide that girls weren't really for her. Azusa groaned. This was one of the reasons she hadn't wanted to tell anyone about her and Yui; everything seemed much more serious and official if everyone knew.

Azusa's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the clubroom door opening. She had though someone might come after her, but she wasn't sure wanted to talk to anyone right now. But as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs she sighed and accepted that she wouldn't be able to get away.

"Azu-nyan," she heard Yui yell. "Azu-nya- oh you're right there. I thought you would have gone further." She heard her senpai stop a couple of steps behind her.

"Yui-senpai, I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now."

"Is it because of what I said in there? Ritsu said you didn't want anyone to know we went on a date."

"Mmm."

"Ah, I'm sorry then. I didn't know you didn't want anyone to know."

Both of them were quiet for a few moments. Azusa heard Yui fidgeting beside her. Eventually the older girl sat beside her on the step.

"Azu-nyan?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to make it up to you/"

Azusa took a moment to consider. "I don't know senpai, I just want some time alone."

Yui hummed beside her. She sounded like she didn't like that answer. "If it makes you feel better, I don't think anyone minds."

"A little," Azusa said. In truth it didn't. It sounded like something said just to placate her. But Yui sounded so hopeful, and Azusa knew the older girl did want her to feel better. But simple words weren't helping her concern over her friends' reactions or her worries about Yui's feelings.

"Senpai, I think I'm going to go home today. I don't think I'm ready to go back in there yet."

"Ah. Yeah, okay."

Azusa stood up and started to walk away. She didn't make it far before she heard footsteps behind her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Yui fall into step beside her. She spared her a quick glance before asking what she was doing.

"I'm going with you. If we're dating now, shouldn't I make you feel better if you're feeling down?"

"Yui-senpai, it's alright," Azusa said. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." A moment passed before Yui realized what she said. She quickly waved her hands in front of herself. "I meant that you won't be on your own, not that you wouldn't be fine."

"You don't have to force yourself to do what you think I want," Azusa said.

"Eh? But I'm not forcing myself. I really want to help you feel better."

Azusa looked at the smile that had spread over Yui's face. It was honest, innocent. Much like Yui herself. Azusa sighed.

"I guess you're right. I'll let Ritsu-senpai know we're not going back to the clubroom.

"Eheh, good," Yui said. "Now let's get our stuff and get out of here."

She grabbed Azusa's hand and pulled her along towards the lockers. Azusa couldn't help the warm feeling rising within her. She wasn't certain what Yui might feel, but times like this filled her with hope.

* * *

Ritsu looked around Mio's room for the tenth time that evening. Everything looked the same as it always did except for the books and paper that were arrayed on the table that separated the two of them. Ritsu sighed. She was bored; studying did that to her.

After they had split off from Mugi, Ritsu had invited herself over. She had said she wanted to study, but really she was concerned about Mio's reaction to Yui's slip up. At the time, the other girl had asked her if it was okay. That wasn't a good sign, if Mio needed someone else to approve of Azusa and Yui... she was pulled out of her thoughts by Mio.

"I thought you came over to study."

Ritsu waved her hand. "You know I can only do it for a little bit before I can't focus any more."

Mio sighed. "I know, but you could at least try for a little longer. How long has it been? Ten minutes?"

"I have a lot on my mind, alright?"

Mio snorted. "Like what?"

"Like Yui and Azusa."

"Ah. Yeah, I guess that was rather surprising."

"Mmhmm. Must be nice for them, though. Those two get along so well," Ritsu said.

"Yeah. I guess it's less of a surprise that it's those two, and more that, well..."

"Well what?"

"I didn't expect to see two girls going out, not seriously."

Ritsu took a deep breath. Time to see what Mio thought about the situation. "Do you think it's strange?"

Mio's eyebrows drew together in concentration. She took her time answering.

"Maybe, a little, it is strange. Most people don't look at their own sex like that." She paused to gather her thoughts. "But some people don't like the taste of pineapples, or bananas. Or cilantro! Some people think it tastes like soap."

Ritsu grinned and nodded. "Some people don't like the sight of barnacles." She watched Mio flinch and glare at her. She giggled in response.

"I guess I was trying to say that you can't help what you do and don't like." She sounded annoyed. Ritsu smiled to herself. It was too easy to rile the other girl up sometimes.

"I'm glad you think so. You seemed kind of tense when Yui said she and Azusa went on a date."

To Ritsu's surprise, Mio laughed at that. "Well at the time I thought... well, it's not important."

Ritsu wasn't about to take that lying down. She moved around the table between the two and started pushing and pulling Mio. "Tell me, tell me, tell me," she whined.

Mio pushed Ritsu away and chuckled. "Alright, I'll tell you. When I asked you about Azusa, what she was doing at your house, you got all defensive, and said it was private. Well I kind of got the idea that maybe, you and her were... were doing what her and Yui are doing."

Ritsu was a little surprised. "You thought me and Azusa were going out?"

"You were being so secretive. And you tell me everything, but then you said you had to ask Azusa if it was okay, it just seemed like..." Mio looked away from Ritsu. "Well like the two of you were hiding something. Like a relationship."

Ritsu took a moment to consider Mio's words. She could kind of see how the other girl came to the conclusion she had. Still, looking at her stirred something in Ritsu. The two of them had promised not to hide things from each other, and even though she felt she had done the right thing, she couldn't help but feel a little guilt.

"Sorry about that," she said. She couldn't quite meet Mio's eyes when the other girl looked at her.

"It's okay. I understand why you did it." They were silent for a few moments, then Mio's voice took on a teasing note. "Still, it was a little weird, thinking _you_ were dating someone. I didn't think I'd ever see the day that happened."

Ritsu was glad to hear the serious tone leave their conversation. Teasing was something she was much more comfortable with. And she figured she owed Mio a few good shots at her.

"Oy, I can think about that kind of stuff too. I just choose not to."

Mio rolled her eyes. "Somehow I don't believe you."

"It's true though." Ritsu thought for a moment, trying to think of an example she could give. "Remember that time you left lyrics in my mailbox?"

"Hm? I've written a lot of lyrics, you might have to be more specific."

"It was all lovey-dovey. They were about what someone looked like with their bangs down."

"Ah, yeah, I remember now."

"Well I never told you, but when I found them I didn't know they were from you, so I thought it was some kind of love letter," Ritsu said.

"Eh?" Mio shifted her position, turning more fully towards Ritsu.

"I don't know, I thought it was someone who saw me with my hair up all the time and wanted to see it down. I spent all day thinking about it until you told me it was just lyrics."

Mio was giving her a strange look. "How did... how did you feel about that?"

Ritsu felt the beginning of a blush coming on. "It's not important, I just wanted to prove that I can think about stuff like that too."

"But did you... would you have considered... if someone else had written it, if it was a- a love letter, what would you have said if the person who wrote it came to you in person?"

Mio was focused completely on Ritsu. Ritsu was a little unnerved at the earnest scrutiny she was under.

"I don't know," she said. "I guess it'd depend on the person? I mean, I wouldn't date some stranger because of some nice words."

Mio blinked and seemed to realize that she was staring. She turned back to the books in front of her. She coughed.

"We should get back to studying," She said. "Wouldn't want you missing any practice for bad grades."

Ritsu frowned, but went along with the change in subject. She whined a little for Mio's benefit but went back to reading over her notes. Mio was acting strange, but after her own behavior in keeping Azusa's secret, Ritsu figured she could give her best friend some time to talk to her on her own.


	11. Chapter 11

Azusa took in a deep breath as she stared at the door to the clubroom. She had dallied in class, trying to put off returning to the club for as long as possible. But she knew she'd have to see her bandmates again eventually. She took another breath and reached for the handle. Time to face the music.

When she entered the room she found everyone already seated at the desks, snacking on cakes and tea. Everyone was chatting amiably with each other. Mio and Ritsu sat next to each other on one side of their makeshift table. Mugi and Sawako sat at either end, and Yui sat next to an empty chair on the last side. The familiarity of the scene in front of her helped put ease her mind.

"Ah, you're here, Azusa," Ritsu said as she waved the short girl over. "Come, sit with us. I think we have something to discuss." The older girl steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. Mio reached over and smacked the back of her head.

"Why are you speaking so formally, you're going to make her nervous," she said. She turned to Azusa. "Sorry, you know how she gets."

"Ah, yeah,"Azusa said. She moved further into the room and set her bag on the bench before taking a seat next to Yui, When she looked around she saw Mio and Ritsu carefully sipping their tea, trying to show an air of nonchalance. Sawako-sensai was legitimately engrossed in scarfing down a piece of cake, and Mugi was looking between her and Yui with a blush and a smile on her face. Yui, for her part, was simply grinning at her.

"Um, everyone, about yesterday," she said. "I'm sorry for my outburst. It was uncalled for and, um-" she was interrupted by Sawako.

"No, Azusa, I have to apologize. I didn't mean to imply that your feelings weren't genuine, that was insensitive of me."

"Ah, it's okay, Sawako-sensai. After all, I imagine as a teacher at an all-girl's school you might see girls who just act, um, a certain way, but don't really... you know," Azusa said as she blushed. Everyone was paying attention to her. She found her feelings difficult to talk about with her friends' scrutiny. Sawako put a hand on her shoulder, likely trying to comfort her.

"Thanks for understanding," she said. "And I really do support the two of you." Her eyes took on a glint that Azusa found distressingly familiar. "Besides, this could be a great new image for the band. The all girls, girl's love band, with real girls in love, front and center." Her arm came up in a sweeping motion. "Picture it, you guys could dress in matching outfits, flirt between songs, and best of all," she said with a wild gleam in her eye, "seal the show with a ki-"

She was cut off by a piece of cake hitting her nose. She jerked her head back and blinked in surprise, then looked cross-eyed at the frosting coating the tip of her nose. She uncrossed her eyes to look at the perpetrator- Mio, who was busy trying to look innocent while wiping her fingers off on her napkin.

"Mio!" Ritsu exclaimed before throwing her head back and cackling. The others joined in, shocked that Mio of all people would throw food at someone else.

Mio huffed and dropped her innocent act. "Well she had that look in her eye, and it seemed like the fastest way to get her to stop."

"Geeze Mio-chan, I didn't know you could be so cruel," Sawako said. "Wasting perfectly good cake like that. You should be ashamed."

"You should be ashamed, suggesting your students do something like that on stage," Mio said.

"I don't know," Yui said. "It could be fun. Ooh, we could make a skit out of it!" Yui began bouncing up and down in her seat excitedly.

"Yui-senpai, we can't do that kind of thing on a stage in front of people!"

"Why not?" Mugi asked. "Ah, no, never mind, forget I said anything," she said quickly.

Azusa saw Ritus's face take on a sly look. She braced herself for what her senpai was about to say.

"Really though, why not? You two have already kissed, so it's not like you can't do it. And there'd be a lot of appeal there, with Yui's air-headedness and Azusa's cuteness."

"Ritsu-senpai, don't you start too," Azusa whined.

"Ah, I know what it is. You're afraid you won't be able to stop yourself at kissing," Ritsu said.

Azusa's felt her face light up in a deep blush. She saw Mugi get a far away look in her eyes. Next to her Yui seemed unfazed.

"Ritsu-senpai!" she exclaimed at the same time Mio smacked the other girl in the back of the head.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ritsu asked.

"For being obnoxious," Mio said as she crossed her arms.

Yui spoke up before Ritsu could respond. "Stop herself? What do you mean by that?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Yui. Azusa wasn't sure if it was Yui being naive or if she had missed something; knowing Yui, she wouldn't be surprised about either being the case.

Ritsu was the first to answer. "You see Yui, when two people love each other very much-"

Azusa buried her face in her arms, trying to fight her blush. She couldn't listen to this. Luckily Sawako felt the same way. Azusa heard their advisor spit out her tea before yelling at Ritsu about how inappropriate she was being. As she listened to Ritsu defend herself, Azusa felt a smile coming on. Being teased by Ritsu, Mio scolding Ritsu, Yui being air-headed, Mugi off in her own world... it was all so normal, for them at least. Nothing had changed in the way they treated her. She felt her blush die down a little and decided to rejoin the conversation.

"I think she gets it, Sawako-sensai." Their advisor glared at Ritsu, but relented. Azusa looked over at a blushing Yui. Apparently she had finally realized what Ritsu had been getting at earlier.

"Yeah, I get it, sorry, sorry," Ritsu said, sounding at least a little sincere. "It's just exciting. None of us has ever been in a relationship, it's fresh material for me."

"Ritsu, if you put half the effort into studying that you put into making fun of us, you'd ace all of your tests," Mio said.

"Ah, but that wouldn't be half as fun."

Mio only shook her head in response.

* * *

After a brief but productive practice the girls started cleaning up. Sawako had left when the started playing to get some work done. Azusa volunteered to clean off the tables and Mio joined her, leaving the others to goof around while they took care of the instruments.

"I hope Ritsu wasn't teasing you too much earlier," Mio said.

"Ah, no, not at all. It was kind of reassuring that she didn't change how she acted. She wouldn't be Ritsu-senpai if she didn't tease us."

"I suppose you're right, Azusa," Mio said. She was quiet while they collected the plates and cutlery. When they were done, she said, "I'm proud of you. It took a lot of courage to tell someone about your feelings."

"Ah, thank you. I don't feel very courageous. In fact, I could only tell Ritsu-senpai because I thought, at the time... well..."

"Hm?" The two headed to the sink with the dishes.

"Well, I thought she might be the same."

Mio looked confused. "The same as what?"

"Me."

Mio considered for a few moments while she washed a plate. "You thought she, um, liked girls too? Is that what you're saying?"

Azusa made an affirmative noise. She wasn't sure how Mio might react to what she had just been told.

"Oh. What made you think that?"

Azusa didn't think it was a good idea to tell her senpai that she had thought Ritsu liked Mio. "Well, I've heard that people like me are supposed to be able to tell when someone else is, um, gay. It was just a feeling though, nothing specific." She accepted a plate from Mio and started drying it.

Mio hummed noncommittally. "Still, it was brave of you to talk about a crush, and you even asked her out. I don't think I'd be able to do something like that"

"Ah, well, Ritsu-senpai did help a little with that. It was simple, what she said. 'Stop worrying so much and go do it,' or something like that. I knew what she meant though. I had to do something, or nothing would happen. And once I did something, I'd have to deal with whatever happened after. O-or something like that."

Mio smiled and handed her another plate. "I think you might be giving Ritsu a little too much credit. She probably didn't think about consequences or anything like that. Still, it's good that she helped."

"Mm. And she told me, when I was worried about what everyone would think," Azusa said, staring hard at the plate in her hands. "That nothing changed for her. That even though I liked girls, I was still Azusa to her. That was nice to hear." She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Mio was looking at her with a sincere smile on her face.

"Azusa, we all feel the same. You're still our friend, and our band wouldn't be complete without you."

Azusa blushed and nodded. Ritsu had told her the others would still accept her, but hearing the words directly set her mind more at ease.

She and Mio finished with the dishes and helped the others finish organizing the rest of the room. They made sure to chide the others for taking so long- they had been fooling around no doubt. Once packed up, they left school and leisurely made their way home. When each of the others parted ways, Azusa received hugs and words of acceptance. By the time she made it to her own house she felt much lighter. She knew she'd have pleasant dreams that night.


End file.
